Glasgow is giving producers a place to find co-production partners before they shoot. Newport Beach drew more than 50,000 attendees to a program with a record number of premieres. And if you’re in LA this week and trying to figure out where you can afford to shoot your next film, American Film Market has two Thursday panels worth a look.
BIG MOVES
Glasgow creates a pitch for features still in development
Screen Daily reported on November 6 that Glasgow Film Festival is adding its first International Co-Production Pitch to the 2027 Industry Focus program. Selected teams will receive pitch workshops, industry accreditation, one-to-one meetings, and a chance to present live to financiers, sales agents, distributors, and producers.
This is for feature projects of at least 70 minutes that are already in active development. The project must have some financing in place, which may include development funding, and it must be seeking a co-producer. International applicants need a real interest in working with a UK co-production partner. Production companies submit the applications, and the materials include a one-page treatment, finance plan, budget, visuals, and a clear explanation of what the team needs from a partner.
Read Screen Daily's report on Glasgow's co-production pitch
Strategic takeaway: If your feature is still in development, festivals can be part of the financing plan. Apply when you can explain what is already secured, what is missing, and why a UK partner would make sense for this film. A general request to meet people is too broad. A producer should be able to see the project, the budget, and the exact role you want a partner to play.
Newport Beach shows what a strong regional audience can do
Newport Beach Film Festival reported a record number of premieres and more than 50,000 attendees for its October 15 through 22 edition. The program included about 125 features and nearly 280 shorts. Sold-out screenings included Wild Horse Nine, La Bola Negra, and Ink, while international filmmaker delegations traveled to Orange County for screenings and events.
The awards reached across the program. A Talent for Murder won the juried Best Feature award, while Wild Horse Nine took the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature. The festival's location also puts filmmakers close to Los Angeles without asking every selection to compete for attention inside an enormous industry event.
Read Screen Daily's report on Newport Beach's record year
Strategic takeaway: A respected regional festival can give your film a full theater, press attention, and time with other filmmakers. Before you submit, look beyond the celebrity guests. Check how many films the festival screens, how often selections play, whether Q&As are standard, and whether local audiences actually attend. Those details tell you what the experience may look like for your film.
American Film Market: Where can you afford to shoot?
American Film Market runs November 10 through 15 at the Fairmont Century Plaza and nearby venues in Los Angeles. If you’re local and pricing out a shoot, I’d circle Thursday, November 12. Stage 32 CEO Richard “RB” Botto joins Where to Shoot Next: The Evolving Global Production Landscape at 2:30 p.m. The panel looks at what you can actually get on the ground, from crews and infrastructure to local production partners. At 4 p.m., U.S. Production Incentives: Where to Shoot in the U.S. brings in state film office representatives. Both are on the Constellation Stage. Times are Pacific.
Check the badge before you pay. The $345 One-Day Badge gets you into AFM House programming, but neither of those Thursday panels. The $495 Three-Day Badge (November 12 through 14) is the least expensive badge AFM lists that covers both. The $695 Three-Day + Sessions Badge adds access to the Santa Monica Stage. If Thursday’s two panels are your reason for going, the $495 badge covers them.
AFM schedule | Badge prices | Screen Daily’s market coverage
Strategic takeaway: Before you buy a badge, pick one decision you need to make. If it’s where to shoot, bring a rough budget and ask what spend qualifies, when the money comes through, and what it costs to crew up locally. If it’s financing, look up companies that work at your budget level and try to set up a couple of conversations before you go. If you can’t name a panel or a person that could move your project forward, save the money.
FESTIVAL SPOTLIGHT
Mountainfilm - Telluride, Colorado
Mountainfilm returns May 27 through 31, 2027. This 49-year-old documentary festival programs work about adventure, activism, social justice, culture, the environment, and people taking on difficult challenges. It is Academy Award-qualifying for the Documentary Short Film category.
· It is documentary only. Features are 40 minutes or longer, and shorts are under 40 minutes including credits. The festival is interested in far more than climbing films, so the real question is whether your subject and point of view fit its mission.
· Mountainfilm usually requires that a film has not screened or been broadcast in Colorado before the festival. For 2027, it is looking for films premiering after June 2026 and gives preference to work that has not already reached a large audience online.
· The application needs a complete synopsis, specifications, stills, filmmaker bio and headshot, a screener, and a trailer for features. Rough cuts are not accepted, and the festival recommends waiting until you are comfortable with the version a programmer will see.
Upcoming deadline: Early Deadline, November 24, 2026.
Submit to Mountainfilm via FilmFreeway
DEADLINES & OPEN CALLS
Mammoth Lakes Film Festival
Mammoth Lakes, CA | May 26-30, 2027 | Regular Deadline: December 2, 2026. Mammoth Lakes accepts narrative and documentary features, shorts, animation, experimental work, and screenplays. Films must have been completed after January 1, 2026. Prior festival screenings are allowed, but films cannot have had U.S. theatrical distribution, television broadcast, or a public YouTube release before the festival. Selected filmmakers receive housing assistance and festival passes.
Submit to Mammoth Lakes via FilmFreeway
Raindance Film Festival - Academy Award, BAFTA, and Canadian Screen Award Qualifying
London, UK | June 16-25, 2027 | Earlybird Deadline: December 7, 2026. Raindance accepts independent narrative, documentary, music, queer, midnight, and immersive work, along with screenplays. Features must retain at least a UK premiere and cannot have been released publicly in the UK. Shorts have no premiere requirement. The festival gives particular attention to first- and second-time filmmakers.
Submit to Raindance via FilmFreeway
Palm Springs International ShortFest - Academy Award, BAFTA, and Canadian Screen Award Qualifying
Palm Springs, CA | June 22-28, 2027 | Regular Deadline: December 31, 2026. ShortFest accepts live-action, documentary, and animated shorts completed in 2026 or 2027, with a maximum runtime of 40 minutes including credits. There is no premiere requirement, and films already available online remain eligible. Every submitted film is watched and rated by a member of the programming team.
Submit to Palm Springs ShortFest via FilmFreeway
FINAL THOUGHT
Before you pay a submission fee or buy a market badge, write down what you want it to do for your film. Glasgow could help you find a co-producer. Newport Beach could put a finished film in front of a real audience. AFM could help you figure out where to shoot. The best use of your budget depends on the decision in front of you.
If you want a starting point for building that list, begin here: filmfestivalinsider.com/start-here
Until next week,
Heather Brittain
Founder, Film Festival Insider™
Festival Programmer - Filmmaker - Strategist
